


A Merry SPOP Shipsmas!

by TippenFunkaport



Series: SPOP Canon Compliant Post-War Fics [11]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: (angst is only the last one), Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Christmas Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Humor, I'm just going for a general holiday vibe, Post-Canon, Romance, Snow, Snowball Fight, This happens in canon so Christmas is never actually mentioned, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:56:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27929374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TippenFunkaport/pseuds/TippenFunkaport
Summary: Let’s make the yuletide gay! (Or, in some cases, bi.)I wanted to write something for the holidays but I didn’t want to foist any specific religious holidays on the world of SPOP so, instead, I give you a collection of short stories, one for each major canon ship… each inspired by a popular holiday song!But, to make it fun, I won’t tell you what song is the prompt for each story. You’ve got to guess. (Some are more obvious than others!)Catradora (Chapter 1)Entrapdak (Chapter 2)Seamista (Chapter 3)Glimbow (Chapter 4)Scorfuma (Chapter 5)
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Series: SPOP Canon Compliant Post-War Fics [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877971
Comments: 82
Kudos: 111





	1. Catradora

_I’ll tell them I couldn’t sleep… which is kind of true… and that I was… hungry. Yeah! Though Mommy will probably say that is cow poop and send me right back to bed but that’s ok because Mommadora’ll believe it and probably let me have some of the cake for the party tomorrow before she makes me go back up._

Finn nodded to themselves as they made their way quietly through the familiar halls of Bright Moon to the ballroom. 

Later bedtime. Extra snuggles. Bonus cake. It was a foolproof plan. 

It was already late late LATE and the hallways were super dark. Not that they had any trouble seeing. Nope, they had Mommy’s cat eyes! But it sure made it easier to hide from guards and stuff when nobody else could see them in the shadows. 

Wow! Even this late, the ballroom was all lit up, a million shiny branches and baubles hung all over for the big party tomorrow. There was a stack of presents in the corner that glittered almost as much as Aunt Glimmer! They were just about to sneak over and see if maybe any of those pretty packages might be a present for a really really… mostly… sort of… good little kitten when they spotted Mommy in the corner reaching up to… whoa!

They couldn’t believe their eyes. They stared, jaw open. Was that… Mommy and… 

They turned, the presents forgotten, and sprinted back down the hallway. Just wait until they told Mommadora about this! They were almost halfway to their parents' room when someone grabbed them from behind.

“Hey! Put me down!” They shouted, kicking at the air. Whoever had picked them up was carrying them somewhere that looked an awful lot like the way back to their own bedroom. 

“Shush, little buddy. Everybody’s asleep. Which is where you’re supposed to be.”

Wait. They knew that voice. They stopped kicking. 

“Uncle Bow, wait a minute! I gotta tell you something!” 

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” Uncle Bow spun them around so they were sitting on his arm, facing him. They wrapped their arms around their uncle’s neck so they could lean in and whisper into his ear. He smelled like the Whispering Woods. 

“I went down to the ballroom…” They hesitated when Uncle Bow gave them a look, a you-know-you-were-not-supposed-to-be-down-in-the-ballroom kind of look. “N-not to spy on the surprises for the party or anything just because… I was looking for Mommy because I wanted her to… sing me another song, you know, and you’ll never believe what I saw!”

“Tell me!” Uncle Bow’s bumped his forehead against theirs and made his eyes all big like he was super excited about the story which is why he was always the first person they told about anything cool, after their moms of course. At least some grown-ups knew how to actually listen!

“I saw Mommy kissing She-Ra!” They were so excited they almost flung themselves clear out of Uncle Bow’s arms but he had them. 

“Oh?” Uncle Bow asked, his eyebrows crinkling a little. 

“Yeah! Mommy didn’t even know I was there! She thought I was still tucked in bed sleeping because I snuck down all sneaky. I saw her tickle She-Ra under her shiny red cape and she kissed her! Right on her mouth! Isn’t that GROSS?” They started laughing just thinking about it. “Wouldn’t it be sooo funny if Mommadora had seen? I’m gonna tell her!”

“Yeah... That would have been really funny.” Uncle Bow gave them kind of a scrunchy faced look. They yawned and snuggled against Uncle Bow’s shoulder. Being carried always reminded them of being rocked to sleep as a baby. “But, Finn... didn’t Mommadora already explain to you that she is… I guess it is kind of a hard concept for a kid to understand.”

“But I did! I really did see Mommy kissing She-Ra! You gotta believe me, Uncle Bow! You just gotta!” They rubbed their eyes because they were sleepy, not because they were going to cry. They were way too big for that! 

“Oh, I believe you!” Uncle Bow had carried them all the way back to their room without them noticing and he plopped them back down on their bed. “But you’ve got a big day tomorrow and Mommadora is really busy helping Mommy get ready for your party so how about you get some rest right now and we wait to tell her all about it the morning, OK?” 

“Alright. I guess.” They were kind of tired, now that they thought about it. Uncle Bow pulled the covers up to their neck and tucked their little stuffed Swifty in next to them. He kissed them on the top of their head. “Night, Uncle Bow.”

“Goodnight, little buddy. See you tomorrow!”

They didn’t bother to answer. Their brain already felt all heavy and sleepy. But they did smile a little when they pictured Mommadora’s face when they told her. 

Mommy and She-Ra?

It was just too hilarious! 


	2. Entrapdak

As the call ended, the only sound in the room was the familiar hum of electricity and the soft buzz of the processor. Finally. The silence was like a needed breath. The noise and chatter of the whole alliance together was an assault on the senses. 

Hordak tossed the communications tablet aside. Such primitive technology but it served their purposes well enough. Rough around the edges but surprisingly effective, much like the rest of them. Welcoming, perhaps more than he deserved after everything that had happened, but too much after years of solitude. But the constant pointless chatter and cheerful noise... He shuddered.

He returned to the numbers on the screen he’d been working on before the meeting call and felt the tension in his shoulders slip away. 

Order. Logic. Much more to his tastes than all that chaos. 

He reached for his stylus. Now that they’d disabled The Signal, it was a simple matter of deciphering where the old First Ones technology ended and the original magic of Beast Island ended. And if he could have some time in peace to work without meetings or interruptions, he might actually be able to begin to—

“Hordak!” The door to his island sanctum slammed open with a bang that made him jump. “Come with me! You have GOT to see this!”

He’d barely registered who it was before he was being dragged out of the room by an exuberant purple blur. He realized dimly he was still holding his stylus and tossed it onto a nearby table before they passed through the doorway. That wasn’t where it went but at least he’d have a fighting chance of finding it again there as opposed to wherever Entrapta might be taking him now.

“Entrapta, what—” From the look of her overalls, she’d been out back again, in the swamp-like mess of toxic sludge that was at least part sentient, as far as they could tell. The sludge was an unknown variable, like much of this island with its unnatural blend of magic and technology but he could not get her to agree to any safety precautions in the study of it. Why couldn’t she at least tell him before she went out there so he could go with her? “Entrapta, while I appreciate that you have demonstrated ample competence in taking care of yourself, I thought we agreed that the unpredictable nature of—”

She barreled on as if he’d never even spoken.

“So you know how we were having connectivity trouble because of the conduits wearing down? Well at first I thought it was corrosion from the emissions but I couldn’t get a good reading because of electromagnetic interference so I was going to try a shield pulse so I could use the thermosetting on the new couplings to reroute past the breakpoint but then… YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT I FOUND!” She pulled them to a halt at the edge of the swamp and pointed straight ahead.

Hordak stopped. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, at an uncharacteristic lack of words. Standing before him at the edge of the sludge, munching on a pile of broken conduits like they were massive noodles, was the strangest thing he had ever seen on this world or any other. It was built like a blimp and looked like it weighed as much as one of the old tankers they’d used back in the Fright Zone. But the most unusual part was its skin, which was as moist and hairy as you’d expect from a swamp creature’s flesh but also glowed with lights and components like it was a robot. 

“Is it… animal or mechanical?” 

“BOTH!” Entrapta cackled with maniacal glee. “Watch this!”

She slammed her mask down over her face, which Hordak took as a sign to take a generous step back, and flipped the power switch. Immediately, green electricity sparked out the end of a disconnected wire. Entrapta grabbed it with her hair and held it out to the creature. Immediately, the thing opened its front to reveal a gaping maw.

Hordak tensed to jump in front of Entrapta but the creature only went for the wire tip. It lapped the electricity up like a dog at a hose with its spiked purple tongue. To his utter horror, while it was busy with the wire, Entrapta reached out and pet the monster on what he could only assume was its face.

“Entrapta! That thing could eat you up!”

“Don’t be silly! Look at her teeth!” She gestured to what looked like broken computer chips embedded in the beast’s gums. “That’s why it likes conduits so much! They taste like electricity, don’t they girl?” She let the creature drink… or eat… or recharge… or whatever exactly it was doing for a few moments before flipping off the power source.

“What is it?” Hordak was still trying to process exactly what was going on here.

“It’s a hypotechamous!”

“You are… familiar with this creature?”

“Nope! I just made the name up! I’ve never seen anything like it before in my whole life!” She flipped up her mask and looked at him, her eyes doing that thing where they practically shined. “And I want it!”

Hordak exhaled. “Entrapta, we’re doing sensitive work here. The amount of destruction…”

“I could play with her and study her and feed her and wash her and give her a massage! And we could keep her in the old garage where we found those busted up transports and feed her busted up First One’s tech and we could learn so much about the fusion of magic and technology together.” Entrapta threw her hair around the beast and gave it a massive hug as it went back to casually munching on the conduits. “Oh, girl, we’re going to have so much fun together learning all about what you’re made of!” 

Hordak started several sentences in his head and discarded them all before speaking them aloud. KEEP that thing? Like a pet? 

It was ridiculous. Dangerous. Impractical. Ill-advised. 

Completely out of the question. 

Entrapta looked over at him as if she’d only just realized he hadn’t said anything. 

“You don’t mind, do you?” She smiled at him and what could he possibly do in the face of that but smile back? She gave the creature another crushing hug. “AHAHA! Isn’t she beautiful!”

Hordak watched Entrapta. Sometimes he felt a bit like her giddy enthusiasm was a strong drink he had too much of that clouded his senses. But he couldn’t seem to stop drinking it all the same. 

Tentatively, he stepped closer to the beast and, against all his better judgment, placed a hand on its glowing side. She grinned at him, a giddy giggle bubbling out of her. At times like this, she seemed as luminous as an astonishing bit of tech herself. 

“Yes.” He said. “She certainly is beautiful.” 

Perhaps, he thought to himself, there was some chaos he didn't mind a bit of. 


	3. Seamista

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to up the rating to Teen because there was just no way to do this song (which fit them WAY too perfectly to not use) in stay in G. Sorry kiddies!
> 
> This happens during canon. Or whenever you want it to happen. You do you.

Uggghhh, shut up! 

Mermista burrowed a little deeper under the blankets. Someone was shouting something outside the window and now she was going to have to get up and tell them to knock it off or she’d drown them when she’d so much rather just stay here where it was perfectly nice and warm. Something shifted beside her in bed and then she realized several things in rapid succession. 

The first was that she wasn’t at home. 

The second was that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. 

And the third was that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. 

Well, unless you counted one of Sea Hawk’s old shirts which she ABSOLUTELY did not. 

She gasped, recoiling so hard she fell clear out of the bed. Her butt hit the dusty wood floor with a slam. Of course, it was all nasty in here, Sea Hawk only used this place between gigs, the rest of the time he stayed on his boat. And it was dark, like really dark, which meant… she reached up onto the nightstand for the little alarm clock and groaned again. 

Oh my goddddds, no. Just, so much no. It was late. Like way too late. There was no way Adora wasn’t going to make some smug comment about this tomorrow. Castaspella would make a whole thing of it too. That woman’s mind is vicious. 

She'd just have to get out of here before anyone noticed she was missing. She scrambled to her feet and starting looking for her clothes in the dark. How had her shirt even ended up on top of the fridge anyway? She started dragging a chair over so she could reach it. 

What had she been thinking? Oh, there’s plenty of time between meetings, Frosta’s castle isn’t too far from the docks. I can just pop down and visit Sea Hawk real quick so he’ll stop being annoying about showing me his place. She did NOT come down here to visit him or because she missed him or anything, OK? It was only because she was bored and remembered that he lived nearby and... WHYYYYYY hadn’t she just stayed at the castle with everyone else? 

“Mermista?” Sea Hawk sat up, rubbing his face. “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine! It’s just late and I was supposed to be at this alliance thing and now they’re all going to see me come back and know I… I gotta go.” 

“But, dearest, it’s cold outside.” 

It was kind of freezing in here. She winced as she clipped her bracelets back on, the gold like ice to the touch. Stupid Kingdom of Snows. 

Sea Hawk was standing now, looking rumpled and half asleep in just his boxers. And he looked sort of cute like that, or whatever, and his muscles sure didn’t look bad in the moonlight that was— Uggghhh. She threw his stuff at him with enough force he almost fell backward onto the bed.

“Put some clothes on so I can think.” She decided to ignore the little smirk he gave her as he pulled on his pants. She was still missing half her things, particularly for the lower half of her body. “Do you know where I threw my shoes?”

“Beautiful, what’s your hurry?” Like he didn’t know exactly what the others would say if they knew she was here with him. What they would IMPLY. No matter how many times she told them there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING going on with her and Sea Hawk. He reached out a finger, her panties dangling off it and she snatched them, her face on fire. 

“You don’t need to look so smug about it.” Godsss, how was she going to get out of here without everyone in the bar downstairs seeing. That’s all she needed, a bunch of sweaty sailors watching the freaking Princess of Salineas do the walk of shame. 

“As soon as you said the alliance would be meeting here, I’ve been hoping that you’d drop in.” He flipped on the bedside light, which was shaped like an anchor because the man had the decorating taste of a pirate obsessed five-year-old, and she caught sight of herself in the ship’s wheel mirror on the back of the door. 

Wow, OK, the hair? The hair was a problem. There was bed head and then there was, well, this situation. She tried to brush it out with her fingers but that was absolutely not cutting it. 

“Hey, lend me a comb?”

Sea Hawk appeared next to her with what was clearly his mustache comb. Then the man had the audacity to snicker when she gave him the dirtiest look she could manage before producing a normal comb from behind his back. She snatched it out of his hand, shoving his stupid face out of her personal space, as he started to laugh outright. 

“Well, I think your hair looks lovely, dearest. Like waves upon a tropical shore.” 

“You would, you’re the one who messed it up in the first place!” She hated that she flushed thinking about it. How dare that dumbass be sexy? She watched him in the mirror as she attacked her hair. 

He was puttering around his little kitchenette area, putting the kettle on and humming to himself as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He’d thrown a bathrobe on over his bare chest but hadn’t bothered to tie it because apparently, he was part polar bear or something. NOT that she was looking or admiring the view or anything! “Hot chocolate?”

“I really can’t stay!” Although, hot chocolate sounded pretttty great right now, especially because he was making it with cinnamon and chili powder, just how she liked it. It had been WAY warmer in bed when they were all snuggled up. It never got this cold in Salineas and she was NOT dressed for this. She glanced at the rumpled sheets, way too tempted to just climb back in there. “OK, maybe just, like, half a cup. But then I’m leaving for real!” 

“My dearest Mermista, be sensible! You won’t be able to get a transport in weather like this!” There was a transport, like, right outside the window but she didn’t bother to point it out. He handed over a mug that was filled way more than halfway. She sat down on the couch, her hands cupped around the ceramic, letting the warmth soak in. NOT because she was staying or anything, but because you couldn’t drink hot chocolate standing around. It was weird! 

Sea Hawk made a show of moving the curtain and letting out a long whistle. “Look out the window at that storm! It’s bad out there. Never had such a blizzard before!”

“Oh, yeah, totally.” There were like, four snowflakes. “Up to my knees.” 

“Exactly! What did I say? It’s COLD outside. You’ll freeze out there!” He sat down on the couch, setting his own mug on the little crate he used as a table. “And think of my lifelong sorrow, if you caught pneumonia and died!”

“You’d manage.” She smacked him, but not hard. Just enough to remind him that he was NOT cute. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she stayed. After all, they couldn’t expect her to travel in weather like this. 

Sea Hawk mock gasped and captured her hand in both of his. “You poor thing! I’ll have to hold your hand. It’s just like ice!” 

He pressed it to his bare chest which was… I mean, it was fine or whatever. Firm and stuff. If you’re into that kind of thing. The hot chocolate was really working well, she felt warmer already and she hadn’t even drunk any yet. He raised an eyebrow at her, giving her That Look. 

“Stopppp looking at me like that.” 

“How can I not, darling? Your eyes are like starlight.”

Ugghhh. He is SO cheesy. She took a long sip of her hot chocolate so she had an excuse not to look at him. He was still watching her as she finished licking the excess spice off her lips.

“Gosh, your lips look delicious.” He placed a single soft kiss on the back of her hand. He slid a little closer to her on the couch, his kisses trailing up her arm. “Mind if I move in closer?”

“Do whatever you want, but I’m seriously leaving, like, any second now.” Like… she could just finish this last swallow of hot chocolate, get up and be on her way. She flicked her finger and made a refill of hot chocolate hop out of the kettle and into her mug so she didn’t need to move from her spot on the couch. Maybe she could say she got drunk. 

“Now, dearest, what’s the sense of hurting my pride?” He’d snaked his arm around the back of her neck, his nose nuzzling into her neck. 

“I have literally never cared about your pride.” Damn it, she was smiling now. “Like, never.”

He was kissing her neck now, his mustache tickling the soft skin. It would serve him right if she splashed hot chocolate all over him right now. She should, honestly, to remind him that she was absolutely NOT into him. She leaned back so she was laying on his chest, her body tucked between his legs. He pulled a blanket off the bed and tossed it over the both of them, his arms wrapping around her. 

“I’m NOT staying.” She snuggled her face into the side of his chest and took another long sip of hot chocolate. Yeah, this was pretty much perfect. 

“Of course you aren’t, dearest.” He traced his fingers along her arm. Mmm, she was nice and warm now. She could almost fall asleep like this. At least, she could if she wasn’t leaving like… any minute now. She leaned up and kissed him, long and slow, enough to taste the chocolate on his tongue.

Whatever. At least she was going to say that she tried. 

  
Art by [alysurr](https://alysurr.tumblr.com/post/637623766984327168/baby-its-cold-outside) (who has a ton of amazing SPOP art, esp Seatmista, go check her out!


	4. Glimbow

"Glimmer!" 

Glimmer startled, completely losing her train of thought. She hadn't meant to just zone out in the middle of Frosta's foyer, but she'd been admiring the old murals and gotten completely lost in memories of the past and how much work they still had to do to rebuild the present. There was just still so much to fix it after the war, it was overwhelming. A future without war was exciting in a lot of ways, but terrifying in others. And the thought of screwing it up scared her more than anything.

"Hey, you." Bow appeared next to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. As he moved, snow fell off his jacket, wetting the floor. 

"Hey yourself! Where have you been? Your nose is freezing!" Even the air around him was cold, like he'd brought a pocket of outside in here with him. He laughed and nuzzled into her neck. "Aaah! Get away from me with your ice nose!" 

She escaped by teleporting a few feet away. 

He was still laughing when he jogged back to her side. "Where's your jacket?" 

"Still in the cloakroom. I figured I might as well leave it here since we're going to poof home anyway. Come on."

Bow scrunched up his face. "Actually, would you mind if we didn't go home just yet? There's something I'd like to show you." 

Part of her really wanted to protest. It had been a long day of meetings and going over the plans to rebuild the Kingdom of Snows. She really should get back to her office and get started on those shipment orders and check in with the builders about the new layout and… 

Her best friend turned boyfriend sensed her reluctance because of course he did, he knew her better than anyone. He did those puppy dog eyes that were literally impossible for her to refuse, and he knew it. "Please? It won't take long, I promise!" 

She exhaled. He was lucky she loved him. "Oh, fine. But then we're going home and snuggling by the fire."

"Great! Go grab your coat!" 

"Wait. You're going to make me go outside? Bow, it's freezing out there!" There were long windows alongside the main doors and snow swirled past them in a steady storm. "Don't you hate being cold? Were you not literally the guy at Princess Prom shivering in a three-piece suite while the rest of us were fine in sleeveless dresses? As I recall, you not being able to handle being even slightly chilly got us captured by the Horde. It was a whole big thing!" 

"Well, yeah, buuuut when we went up on that mission to the Frozen North, my very smart friend Glimmer, explained the importance of layering and the fashion sacrifices one must make to stay warm. So now I’m good!" 

The smug so and so was absolutely begging for a noogie with that tone, but he was darn lucky she wasn’t willing to risk getting snow all over herself to give him one. She humphed and lightly punched him in the abs. Or where they would have been if he hadn’t covered like a reasonable person for change at her urging. She missed the view, but not enough to let him get hypothermia. 

"Ughhh, can't you just tell me where we're going and I’ll teleport us there?"

"No. I want to take a walk with you." He took her hand in his, which did not really help his case because even his glove was cold, especially against her bare skin. "Come on! Snuggling is even better when you're doing it to warm up."

"I don't know, I still think if I never stopped being warm in the first place..." Glimmer gave up. She was not strong enough to withstand a second blast of the puppy dog eyes. "OK! OK. I'll go get my coat."

Moments later, she was bundled in parka, hat and earmuffs, walking down the long lane that led out of Castle Evernight with Bow hand in hand. Not that she could actually FEEL his hand through their thick gloves, but still. At least it had stopped snowing. But a frigid breeze still stung her cheeks, and she burrowed a little deeper into her coat. She'd tried to get him to agree to one teensy weensy little warming spell, but apparently that was not part of whatever wintry vision of romance he was set on forcing her to experiencing tonight. 

She wanted to be annoyed at him, but it was impossible. He was just so happy tonight. He glanced over at her for the third time, grinning like a goof. 

“You look adorable.” His breath came out in a tiny cloud. “At least, the bit I can see of you does.”

"I'm going to kill you." She wasn't entirely sure if he understood her, she'd buried her face so deep her words were muffled. 

He laughed. Laughed! "Are you really that miserable?"

She wasn't. How could she be when she was with him? But she wasn't about to admit it, so she hip checked him and pretended to be really interested in the scenery. The sun was setting, and the light glistened across the snowy landscape. 

"Isn't it beautiful?" Bow tugged her closer and put his arm around her waist. Their jackets were so thick it was like being hugged by a marshmallow. But… a nice marshmallow. "It's like magic." 

You wouldn't think ordinary things that were only “like” magic could still impress you when there was actual magic around you all the time, but somehow Bow was. She pressed herself a little closer to his side. It was one of a million things she loved about him. 

They’d walked in companionable silence for a few minutes when Bow pointed out the faint jingle of a sledge in the distance. Skiffs and electronic transports didn't work up here in the cold, but the old-fashioned sleighs the locals used weren't powerful enough for all the equipment they needed to rebuild the larger towns. That's what he and Entrapta had been working on while she'd been stuck in meetings all day.

She was still focused on the soft sound of the bells retreating in the distance when there was what sounded like a shrill scream close by. She stopped and spun. "What the heck was that?" 

Bow laughed. "We’ve got to get you out more, your majesty. It’s just a jay. See? Oops— it's gone."

She followed where he was pointing just in time to catch a quick glimpse of blue tail-feathers disappearing into the stretch of snowy woods off to their left. “Probably home to its warm nest, like a sensible thing.”

Bow ignored her completely. "See those tall pines? Some of them are over a century old. Oh, actually, I think we need to go this way." He tugged her off the path and into the woods. 

"You don't know for sure? That's encouraging." She joked as they wove between the trees. 

“Taking a walk is not really about the destination. It’s about the journey!” The trees were narrow enough that they were walking single file, their hands linked as they picked their way across the woods. He glanced back at her from where he was leading the way and gave her hand a squeeze. “And the company.” 

Well, it wasn’t like she could argue with that. Besides, the wind wasn’t so bad in here. It felt like something out of a storybook; the trees encased in ice like they were made of glass. It reminded her of when they’d wander the Whispering Woods as kids. Bow was intent on being her wilderness tour guide back then too, pointing out types of plants and doling out random tree facts, undeterred by her complete disinterest. These days she didn’t mind it nearly so much. 

There was a flash of color. She saw another bird, tiny and peach, soar to a graceful landing on a branch just ahead. Its feathers were a kaleidoscope of colors and she couldn’t figure out if they were actually translucent like stained glass or if it was an illusion before it tucked its wings and regarded them. 

“OK, Mr. Nature, what kind of bird is that?” She watched as the bird tilted its head and began to trill a song, slow and beautiful. It hopped from tree to tree, keeping pace with them, never stopping its simple serenade. 

“Huh. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. Not even in a book.” He stopped to watch it. “Maybe it’s new!” 

It wasn’t as ridiculous as it sounded. Ever since She-Ra had awakened the magic at the center of the planet, animals no one could ever remember seeing were appearing everywhere. Some were ancient creatures long thought extinct and others came from nowhere, as if the raw magic itself created them.

Bow wrapped his arms around her from behind, and they watched the bird together. “I like its song. It sounds… hopeful.”

“That’s because it wasn’t in that meeting today!” The weight of everything there still was to do she’d been steadily shedding as they walked settled back on her shoulders. “Are we almost there? I should really get back. I’ve still got a lot of stuff to do.”

“Is it stuff you really have to do today?” He had his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing circles over the knots, just enough pressure that she could feel it through the jacket. “Or is it stuff that could wait until tomorrow and Queen Glimmer is being stubborn about taking breaks again?” 

“It’s…” Take the night off? How could she justify that knowing… He better than anybody knew that everything that had happened was basically her fault and… Argh! How could he be so calm about all of this when the future was this gigantic question mark and tomorrow felt like a sheer drop they were hurtling towards where no one knew what was at the bottom and all they could do was try to build a bridge under their feet as they crossed? 

She exhaled, ragged, and tried not to cry. At least the war with the Horde had been familiar. Now everything had changed. Everything! 

The bird was still singing, and she supposed there was something kind of hopeful about it. Bow kissed her cheek and nuzzled his face against hers. Her own face was so cold now, she didn’t even mind his ice nose this time. She leaned back into his chest and it took some weight off. This was a change too, them being together like this, and it wasn’t so bad. 

It was pretty great, actually.

“It could wait until tomorrow.” She turned and kissed him properly. She hoped he understood what it meant because she wasn’t sure she could actually get the words out right now without sobbing outright. From the way he looked at her, she was pretty sure he knew how grateful she was for him during… all of this. She exhaled, trying to recapture the way she’d felt a moment before when they’d just been enjoying a nice walk in the woods together. “So, what did you want to show me?”

He took her hand again, and they resumed their walk, soft bird song following. 

"OK, so, the skiffs thing... remember how I said I thought maybe it was some kind of naturally occurring electromagnetic interference messing with the grav engine?" He held a branch out of the way for her to duck under. She nodded to show that, yes, she remembered him saying that, not that she had any idea what he was talking about. She loved to watch him get all excited and talk about his projects, but that didn't mean she understand half of what he was going on about. "Well, I was running a scan, chasing what I thought might be the problem, but, instead, I found this!" 

They had emerged out of the woods into a large meadow, a sheet of perfectly undisturbed white. But what Bow was pointing at was the curious mass of twisted metal and ice off to the side. Glimmer immediately found herself drawn to it. 

"Whoa. What is it?" It stretched across an area almost as wide as one of the side building back at Bright Moon. The metal was intricately wrought, ornate twirls and delicate details of snowflakes and ice bears, covered under what looked like centuries of wear and rust. She couldn't make sense of what it was supposed to be, but the long ice cycles that hung down from each curve and point made it look like it was some strange portal to another world frozen in time. 

"It's a ruin! The metal parts were supports. They would have held up the ice that made up most of the building, back when Frosta's great great great whoever was using it. But once her family built Castle Evernight and the rest of the castle town, they didn't need it anymore. Without the magic ice, the metal collapsed onto itself over time. Neat, huh?" 

Neat did not really seem to cover what she was looking at, but she nodded as she walked between the strange frozen sculptures. "How do you know that's what it is?"

"My dads took us here once when we were little. They were studying... something about it. Frosta's parents must still have been alive back then." He shrugged. "I was probably about three or four years old, I don't really remember most of the trip. But I recognized this as soon as I saw it." 

"Well, it’s amazing! What did they use it for? Was it some kind of temple? Oo, what's this symbol mean?" Glimmer pointed up to an insignia hung on what looked like a collapsed archway. 

"It's... probably... uh... that might be the..." He paused. "OK, I have absolutely no idea."

Glimmer burst out laughing. Bow looked sheepish. "Didn't you grow up with all this history stuff?"

"Uh, yeah, and then ran in the exact opposite direction at the first opportunity, if you didn't notice!" He was laughing now too. "I can shoot it with an arrow, if you want. That, I know how to do." 

"Well," she said when she'd stopped laughing enough to talk, "it’s really interesting. Whatever it is."

"In my defense, I was more interested in playing in the snow. We made a whole family of snow friends. I remember that!" 

Glimmer tried to picture cute little Bow and his family running around this field, but she couldn’t stop thinking about this place and how it had been so important once, and now it was nothing. She picked her way through the ruins, catching her reflection distorted in the thick icicles. And, sure, Bow said Frosta’s family had abandoned it on purpose, but he didn’t really remember and what if they hadn’t? What if people and planets could be wounded so badly that there was no amount of work anyone could do to fix it?

She stopped, staring at what looked like a mangled candelabra sticking out of the snow at her feet, so similar to the ones they still used back in Bright Moon. She was looking at the past, but it was too easy to imagine it was the future too. That this could be them if they… if she couldn’t—

There was a sharp trill right next to her ear, and she jumped. She spun around, magic ready, but there was only the new bird sitting on a twist of metal, watching her with its tiny bead eyes. It cocked its head and let out another sharp sound, as if it was reprimanding her. 

“What?” Glimmer asked it, exasperated. Between her own fearful thoughts and the fact that she hadn’t even realized it was there, the thing had scared the crap out of her. It’s soft song had blended into the background as she’d wandered the ruins, and she hadn’t even realized it was still with them. It shook its feathers haughtily, apparently irritated at her for not paying it enough attention. 

But that was ridiculous. It couldn’t tell what she was thinking, could it? 

“Glimmer? Are you talking to me?” Bow voice came from somewhere just outside the ruins. 

“Uh, no, I… give me a second, I’ll come to you.” The new bird preened and let out a short melody. Then it nodded in the direction Bow’s voice had come and, apparently satisfied, flew off. She concentrated on the sound of Bow’s voice and in half a second she appeared beside him, watching as he lifted a small boulder made of snow. “What are you doing?”

“Making a snow friend.” He placed the snow boulder atop an even larger one and started smoothing the snow on the sides with his gloves. “Want to grab some sticks and stuff to be its face?” 

Glimmer blinked at him. “Snow friend?” 

"You know, like… what a minute? You’ve never made a snow friend?" He gasped so loud when she shook her head that an entire flock of birds took flight from a nearby tree. "Glimmer! Have you ever played in the snow before?"

"It's not like it ever snowed in Bright Moon when I was a kid! Even if it did, who would I have played with besides you? You really think my mom would be out there with me making snow angels?" 

Bow was staring at her, his brow creasing. "Were you trying to make a joke? Because snow angels are a thing. Did you know that? Please tell me you know that."

Glimmer made a frustrated noise. Why was he being so annoying about this? "No, Bow! I have never played in the snow before, OK?"

"Wow. OK. Well, then…" Bow looked thoughtful and then turned away. Glimmer swallowed the lump in her throat. Great, now she’d somehow upset him after everything else. 

“Bow, I’m sorry…”

"No, I’m the one who’s sorry, Glimmer, because now I have to do THIS!" 

"Aaah!" Before she knew what was happening, he'd hit her directly in the cheek with a snowball that exploded immediately into a mess of flurries. She dove to the ground and grabbed a handful of snow. "Oh, you are going to pay for that!" 

Now where did he... Another snowball slammed into the back of her head, almost knocking off her earmuffs. She whipped around and caught him in the chest, but her snowball had mostly fallen apart before it hit him. She grabbed more snow and shrieked as he sent another snowball hurtling towards her. She teleported out of the way before it could hit her. 

"Excuse me, but using magic is cheating!” He hit her again as soon as she materialized, this time right in the arm. 

“You’re an archer! Aiming projectiles is your entire thing! I need some kind of advantage!” She landed one on his head when he ducked to reload, but it still was less of a ball and more of a handful of snow. “How are yours staying together so well?”

“There’s an art to it snowball making. You need to pack it together. Like this.” He shaped some snow between his gloves and then tossed it at her. 

“Thanks!” she said as she caught it and immediately flung it back, getting him in the face this time hard enough that she knocked his hood off. “But I think I’ll try my way instead.” 

Before he could recover, she grabbed the biggest armful of snow she could and teleported directly above him. She dropped the whole mess directly on his head, sending him toppling backwards into the snow. She was laughing so hard at his betrayed shout that she forgot to teleport herself back down and she landed on him, sinking them both nearly a foot into the snow. 

  
Art by [alysurr](https://alysurr.tumblr.com/)

She’d crashed onto his chest and she could feel his body shaking with laughter underneath her as he shook the snow off his face and grinned up at her. “OK! OK! I surrenderer!” 

“Very well. I will be merciful… this time. But let this be a lesson to you, young man, that I am not to be trifled with.” She put on her very stern Queen voice and almost got through the whole thing without totally cracking up. 

“I hope you know that almost all of that snow you dropped went, like, directly down my back. It is SO COLD.” There were still dozens of flakes glittering in his hair, white sparkles against dark curls, and a tiny clump of snow caught on the tip of his eyelashes. It was adorable. This little cave they’d accidentally made for themselves was quiet, snow walls boxing them in on either side, like they were the only two people in this icy little world. 

“You poor thing. Does that mean I’m finally allowed to do that warming spell?”

“Nah. I’ve got a better idea.” He reached a gloved hand around her head and pulled her down into a kiss. And damn it if he wasn’t right. Heat spread through her body was faster than any warming spell could ever do. 

They probably would have stayed like that for a while, but she shifted and the snow next to them collapsed, covering Bow’s face all over again, which made kissing sort of difficult. She got back to her feet reluctantly, giving him a hand up after her. 

“And of course that all went down the front of my shirt. WOW, that’s cold.” Bow shook himself free of snow, his teeth visibly chattering now. She pulled him into another kiss, feeling his skin warm under hers.

“Come on.” She tugged lightly on his jacket front. “Let’s go home. A wise man I know told me snuggling is even more fun when you’re doing it to warm up.”

“In a minute. I want to finish our snow friend. If this is your first time playing in the snow, you need the full experience!”

There was no point in arguing with him when he got like this and, besides, she had to admit she was having fun. It was a few moments later when they stood, admiring their creation. It had a lot of personality. They’d used a small log for a smug nose that turned up at the end, and the pine needles she’d arranged into its mouth were a little lopsided, making it look like it was smirking. 

“You know,” Glimmer said, stepping back to regard their handiwork, “doesn’t it remind you of that old sorceress? The one who did Netossa and Spinerella’s vow renewal right after the war?”

“Gods, you’re right! It really does look like her!” Bow laughed and put his arms around the snow friend, moving its stick arms while he did the old sorceresses’ drawling voice. The rocks they’d used for her eyes were slightly different sizes, and it really captured the boggled expression she’d worn as she regarded their friends. “’So many hormones in this room tonight. Can’t take two steps around here without finding one of you all making out in some corner. I suppose you’ll all be needing my services before the year is out.’”

“Stars, that’s it! That’s her exactly!” Glimmer laughed so hard she doubled over. 

“’And I supposed that’s why you’ve dragged me down here today, isn’t it, young man?’” Bow continued in the sorceresses’ voice. Then he jumped out in front of the snow figure and answered as himself. “Us? Oh, no, ma’am. This is all brand new. We’ve barely talked about it! Besides, I’m pretty sure she needs to be the one to ask me, being Queen and all.” He lowered his voice into a mock whisper. “Though, confidentially, I already know I’m not spending the rest of my life with anyone else. So… maybe the next time you’re in town.” 

Glimmer was having a hard time remembering why she’d been cold out here, since right now she was flushed down through her entire body. Bow glanced over at her, chewing on his lower lip as if he thought maybe he’d overdone it, but when she smiled at him, his grin lit up his entire face. She reached over and grabbed a handful of his coat, tugging him closer to her. They were still kissing when she’d teleported them back to Bright Moon.

-

“Oh no! I forgot to show you how to do a snow angel!” Bow said suddenly. Glimmer looked up at him from where she’d snuggled into his side, half asleep under a small mountain of blankets. Their snow things were drying around the fireplace in front of them and they’d only moved from their cuddle spot on the couch once since they’d been home and that was to get hot chocolate. Turns out, snuggling _was_ a lot more fun when you were doing it to warm up! “And we didn’t go sledding either! So much for the full experience.”

“Next time.” She laced her fingers with his atop the quilt. “We’ve got the rest of our lives for you to show me stuff. Right?” 

Bow’s eyes widened slightly, but then he smiled and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. His voice was soft but heavy with emotion. “Right.” 

He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, and she nestled back against him. She sighed, perfectly happy. 

There was so much about the future that scared her right now. 

But this? She wasn’t afraid of this at all. 


	5. Scorfuma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s so much to do after the fall of Prime and all the princesses are busy helping rebuild the planet. So much so that Scorpia has barely seen Perfuma and still doesn’t quite know where they stand. But when Scorpia forgets the planet-wide celebration for the six month anniversary of the end of the war, fate steps in to make sure they can both face the future... together.

**~ 6 months after the fall of Prime ~**

Whoops! Scorpia accidentally pulled the handle clean off another drawer. Oh well. She tossed the bent strip of metal behind her and then just went ahead and ripped the whole front of the drawer off. 

Filing cabinets were definitely not made with claws in mind. Not for the first time, she wondered if her family had had some more claw friendly solution to paperwork and that familiar leaden feeling almost settled in but decided she pushed it away. 

It was fine, she liked a challenge! Yeah, that was it. 

“...so then Kyle was like, ‘Ahh! It bit me! Are we sure it’s not part vampire bat?’ and Imp was flying around going, ‘It bit me! It bit me!’ in Kyle’s voice over and over with blood all over his teeth and Rogelio and I were laughing our BUTTS off. Scorpia, you should have seen it.” Lonnie’s laughed crackled from the datapad Scorpia had left on the top of the cabinet. The reception was so terrible from the Crimson Waste to the Fright Zone that they were lucky they’d even got the audio to work. Which meant she couldn’t actually see her friend’s face but at least they could catch up.

“Oh, man, that sounds hilarious! I’m sorry I missed it!”

“You miss a lot of stuff lately. Girl, you work too much!”

“Haha, true.” Scorpia attempted a laugh. 

Yeah, well, there was a lot of work to do. Scorpia looked around at the disaster all around her. Even without this mess of paperwork that consisted of every last scrap of information about her people that the Horde had bothered to save, the rest of the room was a mess of conduits and wires, broken tech and blasted pods that held stuff so creepy she didn’t even want to ask Hordak what he’d been doing in here. 

Entrapta had offered to help her clean up the Fright Zone but, while Hordak was an OK guy now that he wasn’t so growly, there was just something weird about doing this with Hordak here given… everything. She wouldn’t have minded having Entrapta for the company at least… though the opposable thumbs might not hurt either but she couldn’t very well just invite Entrapta without Hordak. They were kind of a pair. 

These days it felt like everyone was part of a set. Or in some cases a trio. Which was great, obviously, because everyone was so happy! 

She blew out a long exhale and pulled over another crate, the metal scrape echoing across the large empty room.

“You should come down! In the Scorpship, it wouldn’t take more than an hour. Six months today exactly, you know. Big deal! You can come see what we’ve done with the place. We can have a cookout! Rogelio fries up a mean snake burger!” 

“You know, gosh, Lonnie that sounds really great but… the drive on the Scropship’s been acting up and everything’s been a blur. I just need to catch my breath, you know? I think I’ll miss this one.”

“You sure? This isn’t about the thing with Imp is, it? Because I can make the little bugger behave if there’s company.”

“Oh, no no, that’s not it. It’s nothing personal. I’ve turned down all my invites. Need a little quiet time to unwind, you know?” As fun as it would probably be to barbecue with her old Horde buddies, party with the Entrapta and the ‘daks down at Dryl or be at the big remembrance Catra said they were doing at Bright Moon tonight, she just didn’t have the energy to be on tonight. 

“Alright. I’ll take a rain-check. But you’re not really going to be alone alone, right? Just a little private time with a certain flower princess…” Lonnie was only teasing but Scorpia was really glad they didn’t have visual just then.

“Hey, so, I’m going to sign off. Say hi to the boys for me and maybe next month I’ll come down and see the place, OK?” 

“No problem, Scorpia. Say Hi to Perfuma for us!” 

Lonnie ended the call and Scorpia stared at the destroyed filing cabinet for a long moment listening to the static. 

**~ 5 months earlier ~**

“Scorpia!”

Scorpia spun around, trying to spot the owner of the voice in the huge mass of Etherians all around her. It had been exactly one month since the fall of Prime and it seemed like everyone on the planet had congregated in the valley where the rebellion had made their final stand for a giant party. The air was full of music and laughter and something was cooking in those colorful tents at the edge of the crowd based on the amazing smells that were coming in that direction. Somewhere in this mass of people were her friends, though she’d arrived so late it would probably be next to impossible to find them in all this chaos. 

“Scorpia! Over here!”

There she was! She spotted Perfuma pushing her way toward her, her hair shining like gold in light of the lanterns strung everywhere. 

“Hey!” Scorpia managed when they finally found each other in the crush of people. “Perfuma, you look… I mean… wow.”

Jeez, Scorpia. That ought to impress her. But the way her hair shone in the lights was just… and the flowered vines braided in her hair were so… and then the dress, the one that looked like it was made entirely of flower petals? Just… gosh. Like was she even wearing anything under there?

It was a cool evening but suddenly Scorpia’s face was on fire. Should she hug her? Or maybe just go for it and kiss her? Gosh, she really wanted to but she wasn’t sure if… I mean, they’d kissed before but it was always Perfuma who started it and what if she’d totally misunderstood and she just meant it as like a friend kiss and if— Oh, OK, whew! Perfuma wrapped her arms around Scorpia’s middle and she wrapped her claws around her small frame.

Hugs. Hugs were good. She was good at hugs!

“Gosh, you smell...” Scorpia nuzzled her face into Perfuma’s hair, like flowers and spring and… Oh, shoot, she’d never actually finished her thought! “Good! I mean, you smell good! Like, nice? Not bad or anything I…” She swallowed. Maybe if she got lucky some of the Crimson Waste quicksand would appear under her feet and swallow her up right now.

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Perfuma smiled at her and Scorpia knew she should stop staring and act normal, but she’d just completely forgotten how to do that. Perfuma flicked her fingers and Scorpia felt the sudden sensation of something soft and plant-like on her head. “A flower crown, for my princess.”

My princess? Wow, that was… Did that mean… although she might have just meant it like, you know, my bud who is a princess. Or maybe she’d really just said “the princess” or “a princess” and Scorpia had just heard it wrong over the sound of the party going on all around them. Yeah, that was probably it. 

“Oh, uh, thanks! And I am… here.” Scorpia couldn’t remember what she normally did with her claws. She tried crossing them over her chest but that felt weird but when they hung at her sides that felt weird too and… oh, shoot, she was doing the staring thing again wasn’t she? “Yeah. So…”

“Come along. We’ll go find the others!” Perfuma wrapped an arm around one of Scorpia’s claws and started pulling her towards the tents. “I’m so glad you finally made it! I was beginning to think this would be like the Moonlit Planting when I waited all night and you never showed!”

“Oh, yeah, gosh I am soooo sorry about that. I was trying to get the garnet room fixed up a bit ‘cause Castaspella was coming over to look at Shadow Weaver’s whole creepy set up before we trashed it and I lost track of time. Then I was all set to go and the Scorpship just totally died and Entrapta tried to walk me through fixing it over the datapad but I’m just impossible with tiny wires and all with these claws and by the time I realized I should have just taken a skiff, it was too late and…”

Perfuma waved her hand dismissively. “It’s alright. I understand. The fates were not aligned harmoniously for that evening. But do you feel the energy here tonight? Most encouraging! A beautiful celebration of old victories and new beginnings.”

“Oh, yeah, the energies are… I mean, they’re great. Obviously.” Scorpia was not entirely sure about the energies thing but felt like maybe it was too late to ask at this point. Also it was kind of hard to think straight with the soft warmth of Perfuma’s hand wrapped around her claw. “So, some party, huh?”

“Come along! I want you to dance with me!” 

Scorpia’s mind flashed immediately to the last time she and Perfuma had danced, in that undersea club, a beautiful moment full of potential before everything went horribly wrong. This time there would be no mission, no mind-controlled zombies to fight off. They could just dance and have fun and maybe this time she could try to tell her that she just thought she was… just so incredibly… 

“Scorpia! You made it!” Swift Wind had his hindquarters on a small stool and small team of kids were braiding shining ribbons into his rainbow tail. “Before tonight is over, you and me, we’re hanging out!” 

“You got it, buddy!” Scorpia called over the weird synthetic music blasting from the stage. A small band of clones, each one with their hair dyed a different color, were rocking out. The lead singer might have been Wrong Hordak, but then again, they all kind of looked the same, even with the different color hair. Though he did wink at her as they made their way past so maybe it was him after all. 

“Finally,” Perfuma said, pulling them into an open spot on the dance floor. Scorpia knew her face was probably red enough to match her tail when Perfuma turned to her, linking her arm around her back. She started to move with the music mechanically, relieved Perfuma was taking the lead because now that they were so close, she was having trouble remembering how her feet worked. “A whole month gone by and it feels like I haven’t stopped. Helping regrow the crops Prime’s forces spoiled, keeping the new magic plants at bay, healing the forest. The war is over but it feels like there is still so much to do. I find myself wishing there was more time for… completions and connections.”

“Oh, yeah. Totally. It’s been nuts by me too. Just work work work. First, you know, I went with Frosta to help up in Snows and then I just got back and, jeez, The Fright Zone is a MESS and it’s going to take me weeks to even figure out what to do with half the stuff.” Wait. Scorpia’s bran rewound what Perfuma had just said and held her breath. That last part… did Perfuma mean her? Or, like, them? Was there even a them? Because, gosh, she really wanted there to be a them and it seemed like maybe Perfuma wanted the same thing but they’d both been so busy this was the first chance they’d really had to be even close to alone. And they’d kept in touch, screens and chats and all, and saw each other with the rest of the gang but it seemed like everything was always pulling them in opposite directions. 

“Work. There is certainly a lot of it to be done.” Perfuma sighed but then nodded. “But it is important and worth doing!”

Wow. Just… the way her eyes shone like that when she got passionate was so… Scorpia swallowed. She needed to just do it. No matter how terrifying. Worth doing, right? She closed her eyes and leaned down, feeling the warmth of the other princess’ face close to her own, the soft smell of mint leaves on her breath, her lips—

“Uh, Princess Perfuma?” They both froze, lips inches apart, and turned to see a Plumerian man with pale blonde hair looking harried. “I’m, like, totally sorry to bother you and all but, like, we were working the massage tent and then one of those new spotted plants with the teeth just ate my bro Dwayne and it was soooo not harmonious. You think you could… do the thing again?”

Perfuma exhaled, her eyes closed and then arranged her face into a smile. She nodded to the man. “Certainly.” She turned to Scorpia, her eyes soft and apologetic. “Just as I said. So much to be done. Some of Etheria’s new plant life is… challenging. It may take a while. Forgive me?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. No problem. You go do… your plant thing. I’ll… catch you later.” Perfuma looked like she wanted to say more but then just shook her head and followed the blond man into the crowd. Scorpia stood for a moment, feeling scooped out. She saw a flash of Catra’s face, laughing and happy, in the crowd of dancers and a little bit of her earlier good mood returned. But when she moved to get her old friend’s attention, she saw Adora at the other end of her arm, pulling Catra out of the spin and in for a long kiss. And she was happy for them, just so glad they both had someone, obviously but just… right now… 

She kept her eyes down as she made her way off the dance floor. 

She’d seen Perfuma again. From a distance a few times. Once when the whole group of princesses had gathered for a group picture. And it was fine. Swift Wind, turned out, was a great dancer and she’d gotten to catch up with almost everyone. And her and Perfuma, they’d exchanged a few hurried words and small talk here and there before one of them got pulled away for one thing or another but… 

Well, hey! No big deal. There was always next time, right? 

**~ 6 months after the fall of Prime ~**

Scorpia dusted off her claws and admired the result of her hard work. Hey, not bad! Now that she’d gotten all the junk out, good old Horror Hall didn’t look half bad. Still a bunch of repairs to do, some structural damage to deal with but still. Progress! She should ask Glimmer who redid the murals in Bright Moon, see if she could get someone in here to fix her ancestors up, let them appreciate the place all fixed up. Fresh coat of paint and maybe someday she could host a big fancy ball of her own, just to show them like… Hey, fam! Your girl, she’s still here and she’s doing OK. 

Though, right now, their girl was tired and gross from all that manual labor. She had this nagging feeling there was something else she was supposed to be doing but she couldn’t think of what it was. Probably just the unfamiliar feeling of being alone on the holiday instead of surrounded by all her friends. But, hey, since she had nowhere to go tonight she could just go right from the shower to her pajamas and relax. If she went up onto the roof, she might be able to catch enough of a signal to actually get video from Plumeria. They kept meaning to schedule a regular time to call each other but somehow never found time for that either. 

But, hey, bright side right? Maybe it’d work this time! And then they’d finally find a time to meet for lunch next month like they’d been trying for half a year. 

Shoot, she should have asked Lonnie earlier if she knew where the rest of the old Horde kids had gone. Maybe once she got the place fixed up, made it less creepy, they could invite anyone who wanted to come back a safe place to live. Maybe turn the weapons manufacturing into something useful. Medicine. Or maybe even toys. 

She made her way back to her old Horde quarters that she still was using until she got the old palace fixed up. Might be nice, having some familiar faces around here. Someone to help. To care. They could take it back, make it their own. Be like a great big dysfunctional family again.

She exhaled as she looked over the crumbling remains of Hordak’s empire. The new green growth did nothing to hide the blasted war machines or the slow trickle of sludge coming out of the broken pipes. Dark stains so deep they weren’t going to disappear under a new coat of paint. 

Her kingdom. 

Finally she made her way inside, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallways. 

**~ 1 month earlier~**

“I’m just so mad I didn’t get to punch him!” Frosta shouted, making herself ice fists, and jumping hard enough that the boat rocked under them.

“Hey there now, little sailor, don’t capsize us!” Sea Hawk spun around from the front of the boat where he might have been navigating or something but for all Scorpia could tell he was just posing dramatically for no real reason. 

“Eh, she can if she wants. I can always flip us back over. No biggie.” Mermista was lounging against the railing next to Scorpia in a bikini and what had to be the largest pair of sunglasses on Etheria. “Go nuts, kiddo!”

“Kiddo? You all know I’m not still 11 years old, right?” Frosta put her hands on her hips. She looked even younger in her bathing suit than she did in her regal coat and crown. “I’m just short for my age!”

“You tell them, Frosta! Us height challenged need to stick together!” Glimmer called from the tiller where Scorpia could just make out her grin under her massive pink sun hat. 

“Gosh, you know, I just can’t believe it’s already been five months!” Scorpia leaned back and let the sun warm her face. There was still something pretty great about being on a boat, smelling the salt air. She almost wished Catra was here, though she didn’t blame Wildcat for wanting to stay far far away from the water after everything she’d been through. 

“Time flies when you’re fixing everythingggg.” Mermista didn’t look half as annoyed as she sounded. She offered a fruity drink from the cooler they’d brought with them and Scorpia accepted. Mermista was struggling to get hers open and Scorpia reached over and popped the cap off with the edge of her claw. “Damn, build in bottle opener! That’s handy! You should come party with us more often, Sparky!”

The two princesses clinked bottles and Mermista grinned at her. Scorpia smiled back and took a cold sweet swallow. Man, this was nice. Kicking back, hanging out with friends. 

“Believe me, I’d love to. There’s just…” Scorpia sighed, thinking of the disaster back at the Fright Zone she’d still barely made a dent in. 

“So much to do! Oh, I know.” Glimmer finished for her. “So much to fix and rebuild and heal.” 

“And it never ends!” Frosta kicked at the coil of rope curled in the center of the deck. 

“Tellll me about it. I feel like all we’ve done for six months is work!” Mermista groaned.

“Come now, dearest! That’s not all we’ve done!” Sea Hawk said in a low voice that was probably only meant for Mermista to hear. He raised an eyebrow at her and she flushed, kicking him in the shin. He only laughed and stopped to give her a kiss on the cheek on his way to the cooler. Scorpia cleared her throat and turned to watch the coastline sliding along on the opposite side. She really wished Perfuma had been able to come with them but she’d been helping out with the coastal farms last week and spent too much time in the sun. Sunburn in the third degree. 

The sail in front of them fluttered, the rope going taunt as Bow slide down from the look-out, landing on the deck with a soft thud. “We should do something to mark the six month anniversary! Something big!”

“I actually had an idea about that,” Sea Hawk said, using the tip of his saber to uncap his bottle which seemed as good a use for it in peacetime as any. 

“Ugh.” Mermista leaned her head backward off the side of the boat. “Let me guess. Does it involve fire?”

Sea Hawk’s mustache drooped. “It, uh, might involve just a teeny bit of fire.”

“Ughhhh.” Mermista let out an even louder groan. Sea Hawk looked crestfallen until she said. “Alright, out with it, ya goober.”

He brightened immediately. “Oh! Right, well, I was thinking… remember how everything looked when She-Ra came up out of the heart? How the magic was everywhere, all the little glowing things, floating through the sky? Well, what if we made some lanterns, the floating kind. Everybody lights one, we send them up, all over the planet. One for everybody who’s still here, some for the people we lost, you see? Fill the sky like it was that night. Kind of like sending a message up into the sky.”

For a moment, there was no sound but the waves lapping against the boat until Bow gasped. “I actually LOVE that idea.”

“Huh.” Glimmer tilted her hat back far enough that they could actually see her whole face. “Kind of like. Hey universe! Nice try but we’re still here!” 

“Ughhhhhhhhhh, I HATE that that’s actually a really good idea.” Mermista hid her face in her hands and Sea Hawk looked triumphant. Scorpia laughed into her drink. Those two were a riot. 

“Isn’t that something we could do with magic?” Frosta asked. 

“Probably but I bet Entrapta and I could come up with something so everyone could get in on it.” Bow was looking past the rest of them, like he was already building a prototype in his head. “Something small, lightweight, low environmental impact, if we curved the outside we could… Anyone got a pen and paper?” 

“That’s my Bow, always looking out for the regular people.” Glimmer said fondly as Bow ducked below-decks to get something to write with. The archer settled himself on the deck in front of Scorpia with his notebook, leaning against the mast. Conversation lulled as Bow started scratching out plans, his tongue sticking out of his mouth while he worked. 

Mermista finished her drink and made her way over to Sea Hawk and the two of them started messily making out in the front of the boat. Scorpia kept her eyes trained on the back of the boat where Glimmer was trying to teach Frosta how to work the tiller. 

“So how have you been, Scorpia?” Bow asked, glancing up from his paper. 

“Oh, you know. Busy.” 

“Anything I can help with?”

“Oh, uh, not really.” He’d only offered about a dozen times already. Everyone had. But they all also had their own disasters to clean up and she didn’t want to be a burden. Plus there was something else, something she didn’t quite know how to explain. 

From the back of the boat, Frosta and Glimmer laughed and Bow turned their way. The side of his mouth tilted up as he watched them. And though neither Glimmer or Bow said or did anything but exchange a look, something charged passed between them that was somehow more intimate than the face sucking going on in the front of the ship. It was warm and soft and made something hollow and empty settle inside her. 

Scorpia turned away, running out of places to look, surrounded by friends and yet feeling completely and totally alone. 

**~ 6 months after the fall of Prime ~**

Come on! It had to work this time! Scorpia mashed the button again but there was still no connection. Ah well. She should really head to bed anyway. It was getting dark out and it had been a long day.

She had just turned and started for the ladder to go back down to the lower level when she saw them. Lights, rising from the direction of the woods. Probably from Bright Moon and the surrounded towns. She spun around, looking towards the coast and saw more lights, tiny and far off, but floating steadily into the sky. They were everywhere now, rising from all directions.

Oh shoot! Guess what she forgot! The lanterns! The whole planet was celebrating the fall of Prime together and here she was, the only one without a light, as if she didn’t even exist. 

For a moment, she almost crumpled to the ground and sobbed. It was all just too much, the weight of everything, not just the last six month but her whole life crashing down on her. A million shadows behind the bright sides she’d tried to focus on, all that darkness that was always threatening to drag her down. Because she had friends, so many wonderful, sweet, helpful friends. But all her friends all had someone, someone who was just theirs, someone to share the work and to care and all she had was the ghosts of her past and the shattered ruins of someone else’s dreams. 

But, no. Push down doubts and insecurities. I am brave, strong, loyal, and give great hugs.

She wiped her eyes and forced herself down the ladder. She hadn’t fallen apart when she’d been taken from her family or she lost Entrapta or Catra or herself at the hands of Prime. She’d held it together with a cheerful smile and that was what she was going to do now. 

She threw on her clothes, trying to remember what the notice from Bow and Entrapta had said. She was pretty sure there was a all-night market at the edge of the Whispering Woods that would have some of the lanterns. She could pick one up, send it up. Show that the tiny flame of hope was still alive. 

It was only a short skiff ride to the woods and she parked it just outside the market. It was pretty empty with holiday, but there was a lone vendor at the edge of the market with their lights still on and a stack of lanterns on their counter. Scorpia reached for the nearest one bumping hands with someone else who’d reached for it at the exact same time. She turned to apologize when what to her wondering eyes should appear than… 

“Perfuma?” Scorpia blinked at the person she’d least expected to see. “Why aren’t you at one of the big celebrations?”

“Oh, I’m spending this one alone.” The flower princess said, looking down. “I needed a break. It’s all been so crazy.”

“Me too.” Scorpia felt that tingle like she sometimes got when the whole alliance used magic together but there was no one there but just the two of them. “Why are you… you mean you forgot the lantern too?” 

For a moment, they just stared at each other before they both started laughing. 

“They say sometimes the fates work in mysterious ways.”

Scorpia grabbed two lanterns and held one out. “Say, I don’t suppose you’d want to… I mean, you know, you and I could…” 

Perfuma took the lantern, wrapping her other hand around Scorpia’s claw. “I’d love to.” 

~

They released their lanterns into the sky in an open field, halfway between Plumeria and the Fight Zone, two small spots of light rising into the dark sky. Perfuma lay against her chest and Scorpia hesitated for a moment before wrapping her claws around her middle, her hurt pounding, her chest perfectly full. 

“Here’s the thing.” Perfuma said suddenly, turning within her embrace, her face suddenly very close. The starlight reflected in her eyes looked hopeful. “I want this. Us. And I know we both have a lot of responsibilities and it won’t be easy to find time but we can make it work.”

“Great. More work.” Scorpia joked, happiness bubbling up inside of her. 

“But work worth doing. Together.” 

She was staring again and it was even more awkward this time because their faces were so close together. She should say something. Something like upbeat like, yeah! Or hooray! Or you’re the most beautiful person I have ever met, inside and out, and I think I might be in love with you. But before she could figure out which one, Perfuma closed the distance between them and Scorpia surrendered to petal soft lips and the possibility of a future as bright as a perfect spring day. 

They were still kissing when their lanterns joined the others, a million points of light that told the dark expanse of stars they were still here. Broken. Stained. But moving forward. 

Together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't had a chance to take down my holiday stuff yet so... this is not too late to be a holiday fic... yeah, that's it!
> 
> I outlined stories for every other canon ship so, if we're all still here by next year, I'll add them to this fic then!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always hugely appreciated no matter how long after posting it is!
> 
> Visit my Tumblr for asks, fic updates and misc thoughts. <https://tippenfunkaport.tumblr.com/>


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